St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-03
Work on the Cable Line Being
Rapidly Pushed Towards Com
pIetiOn.

Work on the Cable Line Being
Rapidly Pushed Towards Com
pletion.
Four hundred men, divided up into
several gangs, are at work on the cable
line now day and night. The track is
laid on Fourth street, from Seven cor
ners to Wabasha. and the men are put
ting in the concrete filling. The track
is laid also from Broadway nearly two
blocks towards Jackson streets. This
morning gang will commence work at
st. Adams street, working. this way,
and as soon as the material arrives an
other gang will be set to work on the
track from Seven corners up the hill.
The retaining walls on Selby avenue,
between Third street and Summit ave-
nue., are practically completed. and the
trenches are now being eXca-
waited there. The piece of the
cable line on East Fourth street
between Jack sonand Wabasha streets
will be the most difficult to manage. At
present the gas company is taking up
all the gas pipe between Cedar and
Minnesota streets, and deep trenches
for that purpose are being dug. This
the cable line, and the construction
company is compelled to wait until the
gas mains and pipes are all removed.
The iron yokeS are arriving, two and
three car loads at time, and it is ex-
pected they will all be here by the 10th.
The cable has arrived already and lies
at the Northern Pacific freight house.
There is $4,000 feet of it in one cable,
and it weighs about $4,000 p ounds. The
reel is a sight worth looking
at. 1t is over twelve feet
icrho nd oh N
came on a special car. just how the
cable is to be placed in the conduits
is popular puzzle to-day, but it will
be simple enough, no doubt, when the
time comes for it to go in. Those who
have the matter in hand say it will be
done by means of smaller ropes and
cables. commencing with very slender
haWSer, and the cable will be drawn
from Broadway up the full length of
the line by the power of the engine at
the engine house on Dale and st. AL
bans streets, and the agency of re-
volving windlass or reel. This is on the
same principle as that of the prisoner
and beetle story of the school book. The
engine house is ready for the steam now
and the engine will be started to test it
some day this week. The cable is an
inch and quarter thick. The cable
cars are here, and there are sixteen of
them.
The city certainly enjoys better street
car accommodations than it did little
while while ago. The Rice street land
West st. Paul line is running, and
makes big improvement on local
travel. About fourteen cars cross the
Robert street bridge every two hours.
The cable line and gas company people
have driven the street cars On the st.
Anthony hill, Lafayette avenue and the
University avenue and Missis-
Sippi street car lines to Fifth
street. About seventy-five cars are
distrib uted among the five lines,
viz: The st. Anthony hill, the Lafay-
cite avenue, the Rice street and West
st. Paul, the University avenue and
Mississippi street, and the East Seventh
street lines. The Lafayette avenue line
supplies enough cars to suit the most
eXacting person, for the University ave-
nue. and Mississippi street cars now run
on it to the Burr street turn table, owing
to the fact that Jackson street is all torn
up from Ninth to Pearl street, where
the grading and paving is in progress.
This puts the residents of the Broad
way, Mississippi and Acker street sec
tons to some annoyance, and will prob
ably continue to do SO for some time
yet. The Edgerton avenue sewer is
still in the way of the Lafayette avenue
extension. The Rondo street track is
making rapid progress.